DURHAM, N.C.—What we learned while watching No. 4 Duke run out to a huge lead, then hold off a spirited comeback by N.C. State en route to a 98-85 victory Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium:

'Pack leader

Duke vs. N.C. State: Mason Plumlee waits for C.J. Leslie to fly by before going up for a shot. (AP Photo)

It has become apparent that Richard Howell is State's most valuable player, even though he won’t be the highest-drafted player on his team.

The 6-foot-8 senior narrowly missed his 14th double-double of the season (he finished with 23 points and nine rebounds) but he might have played his best game. Howell fueled State’s second-half comeback effort, and not just with his rebounding. Howell also showed a deft shooting touch, taking—and making—the open 14-footers the Duke defense was giving him.

He had six points in a 7-0 Wolfpack run that trimmed the Blue Devils’ lead to just nine with 4:36 left, the first time it had been under double digits since early in the first half. Howell fouled out, though, when his elbow connected with Mason Plumlee’s head with 3:41 remaining. Plumlee made both freebies to push the lead back to 11.

Alex is able

The story of Duke’s surreal first half (it led 58-37 at the break) was best summed up by Alex Murphy. He played eight excitable minutes before halftime—he’d played more than that in only four of the Blue Devils’ first 21 games this season—and provided a couple of memorable moments.

The 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman found himself matched up defensively on N.C. State star C.J. Leslie about 4 1/2 minutes into the game, and he forced Leslie to make a pass that resulted in a turnover. As he turned and ran upcourt, he gave Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski a big high-five—OK, it was an enthusiastic slapping of hands at a medium height. The crowd loved it.

That was just a warm-up for the fans, though. With about 8:45 left in the half, Murphy took a pass from Tyler Thornton near the perimeter and charged the lane, which was wide open. Murphy soared in for a powerful two-handed dunk. According to the Duke media notes, that was the first dunk of Murphy’s college career.

That dunk, during a memorable half of basketball against the Blue Devils' “other” rival, was Murphy's signature offensive moment.

Thin isn’t in

N.C. State’s lack of depth was on full display Thursday night.

Point guard Lorenzo Brown (sprained ankle) didn’t start for the second consecutive game. That was expected. But when shooting guard Scott Wood went down to the court and stayed there with a little less than five minutes left in the first half—he was chasing Duke freshman Rasheed Sulaimon around on defense and appeared to slip—the lack of bench depth was glaring. Wood was helped off and didn’t play again in the first half. Coach Mark Gottfried said after the game that Wood hurt his groin.

Junior 7-footer Jordan Vandenberg was the lone player on the Wolfpack bench who has played any “real" minutes for Gottfried. The other three players in uniform (Jevoni Robinson, Chase Cannon and Jay Lewis) have only seen mopup minutes, and not too many of those—26 combined.

Wood returned for the start of the second 20-minute session and played most of it, which was great news for N.C. State. The reality of its razor-thin margin for error when it comes to injuries was still very evident, though.

Good job, good effort

In his first start for N.C. State, freshman point guard Tyler Lewis didn’t wilt under the Cameron pressure.

In fact, he didn’t have an opportunity to wilt. Lewis, who was filling in for Brown, scored State’s first five points, but by the time any other Wolfpack player had put the ball in the basket, Duke held a double-digit lead.

Lewis had nine points and a pair of assists in 19 turnover-free first-half minutes. His counterpart, Quinn Cook, went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, though those weren’t all with Lewis trying to stick with the ACC’s most improved point guard. With Brown out, the Wolfpack can live with Lewis’ defensive shortcomings, so long as he runs the offense efficiently and takes care of the basketball.

Most games, when the opponent doesn’t shoot 64.3 percent on 2-point attempts (9-for-14) and 58.8 percent from beyond the arc (10-for-17) in the first half, Lewis’ efforts would be plenty. He played 39 minutes and didn’t turn the ball over once. He finished with 13 points and six assists.